FSE

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"I'm not sure I can take this... Fuck."

Catherine moved over to Carmine, the elder otter placing a heavy paw on her crewmate and extended family. "It never gets better when you're worrying about it. All you can do is remember the times they come back, wiser and better able to survive their next battle."

"But I'm shaking, and it's not just me. I can feel the fear in everyone here." Car scrunched up as a wave of cold ran through him. "You're scared to death yourself. How to you keep your cool demeanor like this?"

"I just said. I trust my Vasily. Scared or not, I know he's capable of anything if it means bringing everyone back." Cathy sighed as she pulled Carmine up into a hug. "I am scared though, because you can't predict everything. But as much as I know my Vasily, he'd never leave me alone over something as simple as a piece of metal in his gut. Love powers the impossible."

"B-But... I just don't..."

"Sh... Quiet, Carmine. Trust in the one you love." Cathy perked up at that notion, finding an avenue to distract the two. "Wait, who are you waiting for anyway? I thought you were single after... well..."

"Keep a secret? Honestly?" Carmine waited for an earnest nod from the otter before spilling the beans. "Ginivieve."

"Uh... Who? Sorry..."

"The... The neon civet? Bushy tail she keeps tucked away?"

"Oh, Gin! I had no clue that girl had such a ~fancy~ name. She's a sweetheart." Cat tightened her hug for a moment before letting the hare have his personal space again. "Good for you, hon. I hope you have a full life together--and many, many kids."

"I, uh... I'm not..."

The cargo bay elevator clicked into place, prompting all waiting eyes and hearts to hold on the doors. "Just you see. She'll be waiting for you with those huge eyes of hers locked on her prize."

"Cat... Thank you."

Cathy smiled for Rhyme as their eyes met. "I think I've had this same talk five times today. Rhyme was actually preparing for the worst, squeezing into that suit of hers."

"I think that thing's like her safety blanket." Carmine joined the polite smiling, though having to force it. "You really do bring people together. No wonder you're a tribe leader. Thank you for keeping the peace, Cat."

"Us 'war wives' need to stick together. Don't worry about it, Carmine." Cathy locked her eyes on the opening door to the elevator as it opened, smiling as she immediately found her children. "Iolvin! Ielunschra! Zoë! Ad... rian..." Iolvin immediately excused himself by way of helping James carry Trick over to the Medical Bay. "Wh... What's wrong?"

"Mom..." Ilaria took a single step forward, but her lack of balance in her shaking leg told volumes. "Mom, we... need to talk..."

Catherine simply nodded to her children, the search for her husband no longer required. She took a ragged breath, then calmly found herself a seat on a nearby box. "It was worth it?"

"Mom, it's not--"

"Ielunschra Mikhaila Rihzyet, I asked you a question."

"Dad... saved us. He saved every last one of us."

"Then it's... alright." Cathy leaned forward, hiding her face as she looked to her hindpaws. "Your father was the type of man that only had two goals in life: to protect his wife, and to protect his family. I always knew the day would come he'd... need to sacrifice everything for one..."

Ilaria stumbled over to her mother's side, collapsing into her for a hug. "Mom... you should have seen him. We were seconds from death, but he--"

"Ielun-- Ari. Honey, I don't want to hear how, not right now." Tears streamed from Cathy's eyes as the remainder of her family crowded around to join the hug. "He served the tribe well. No, he saved his family, an act of... pure love."

"Cat..." Adrian dug into the otter's chest, nestling deep in her bosom out of instinct. "I can't believe we... lost him..."

A light explosion shook the frame of the Starbreeze, immediately raising Ilaria to her hindpaws with pure fury burning from her eyes. "No. He was taken from us." The otter grit her teeth as she stomped toward the bridge, raising her watch to bark harsh commands. "Prisma. Tell the destroyers to pick a target. Any target. All targets."

"Newtonian vacuum weapons are not effective unless using guided shells and on-site targeting sys--"

"Tell them to fucking lock targets and mother fucking fire!"

A meerkat emerged from the elevator, stomped across the metal floor as if it owed her money, and slammed a leaping punch square into Ilaria's jaw. "No you fucking don't!"

"Cid!? What the fu--"

Another punch, this time to the otter's liver to silence her, ceased all resistance. "You listen to me, and you listen well. Your father was the greatest soldier I have ever set eyes upon. He cared for everyone on the field, including the enemy. Don't you dare sully his name by ordering a sloppy air strike 'in his honor'." Sydney huffed and puffed, realizing she may have acted out some of her own anger in her attack. "There are innocent people down there. Think of them. Volk would."

"Pris... belay that... order..." Ari fell to her good knee, almost submitting to her attacking little sister. "Fuck, Cid... You couldn't just hit my shoulder or something?"

"Well I'd break a paw if I chose the wrong one." Sydney forced a smile and offered a hug with open arms. "I just don't want you to do something you'd regret later."

"I know, Cid..." Ari embraced her new sister with a robot death grip filled with love. "Our dad raised us well, didn't he?"

"But he wasn't my--" Cid stared into her sister's stern expression as if she was being taught a lesson. "Yeah. Dad brought me back from a few bad places. He changed my life. But now... we're back at square zero in a way."

"Oh, you... Gods, Sydney. I didn't know."

Sydney pulled out her empty revolver and finished walking to the bridge. "You don't know the half of it. I... appreciate it, though." She placed the pistol on the captain's mantle, then reached into her boot to produce a flask. "Our dad helped me in more ways than I could count, and all without me asking for one bit of it. It even made me want to help him. He was that kind of a man. He reminded me of my own father."

"I... I didn't even know you two were that close."

"We were closer than I like to admit sometimes." Sydney took a swig of the vile alcohol inside her flask, poured a bit out for her lost comrade, and placed it next to the revolver. "You deserve to know this, Ari. We were intimate. Physical. It caused us both issues."

Ari noticed an inscription on the flask, then instantly remembered the very same flask from years back. "Mom found this on him... They had a fight."

"Over me. She never knew who, but she knew enough."

"But they made up... Right?"

Sydney found the captain's chair and practically fell into it. "No, I refused to give him what he thought he wanted. I... took a bit for myself, though. We all have our moments of weakness, and I was his. When I realized that, I quit the Academy and started doing my own thing."

"So the reason dad and mom weren't close all those years..."

"I'm sorry, Ilaria. I won't ask you to forgive me. I just... couldn't bury him without making things right with his family first."

"Cid..." Ari tensed up, but after a brief moment to think she playfully fell into the seat atop the smaller meerkat. "You ~are~ his family. All that matters is that you care, Sydney. Mom and dad grew close again, in large part due to you keeping most of us alive."

"Yeah, well--" A single word forced Sydney to freeze up, instantly ceasing all playfulness in favor of shoving her sister gently off of her. "'Most'? Fuck, Ari..."

"I... didn't mean it like..."

"No, I owe you for more than your--our--father." Sydney stood and walked off, waving a paw when Ari tried to follow. "I need some time alone. I've caused enough bad in this family, so let me think of how to make it right."

"Sydney, take care. I love you, no matter what you think of yourself."

"I... I'll take that under advisement. Good night, Ari." Sydney calmed herself as she walked, sorrow mixing with grief in a most visible way. It is for precisely that reason that her heart nearly exploded when her wedding ring of a wife reformed as a humanoid before her. "Holy shit, Eve!"

"Sorry, sorry..." Evelyn hovered ahead of Cid, finding a moment to kiss her with an accompanying hug. "Don't beat yourself up. We all do the best for ourselves in the time we have. It's only when we realize we have more than ourselves that any of it matters."

"What, you trying to cheer me up? That textbook drivel is supposed to make me feel better about getting that poor girl's wife slaughtered?"

"No. That 'textbook drivel' was what Vasily told Carbon, long ago." Eve turned to face the direction they walked, purposefully breaking the uncomfortable eye contact. "Did you know Carbon felt the same as you? The world exploded into a ball of nuclear fire around him, all because he couldn't stop one bomb. He took the reigns as Vasily's makeshift father, thinking he was responsible for getting the real one killed. Then Vasily grew into the man he was meant to be and popped that nugget of truth on the both of us."

"I didn't... know..."

"This family... There's something special about them. They bring everyone together. They represent the best of us, no matter the odds against them." Eve spun around to deliver her point, but never anticipated revealing tears streaming down her face. "You say not to sully Vasily's name? Then trust in his family the way he did. They love you, and that's all that matters."

"Eve... Shit, are you alright?"

"What? A girl can't cry once in a while?"

"Well, you don't... have tear ducts and all..."

Eve frowned for a moment and forced herself to stop crying. "That never stopped me from caring." She found Carbon as he sat in a catatonic stupor in the elevator. Forming her other half from Carbon's ring, Eve fell into place next to her husband and cuddled against him in support. "Carbon? You in there?"

"Huh?" The hybrid slowly craned his neck over, then drooped it back. "No... I don't think so."

"You've... been through a lot." Evelyn used her infinite mass and sturdiness to lift her husband over her shoulder. "Let's get you to bed. You're due for hibernation, anyway."

Carbon slumped lifelessly. "Stay with me."

"I will. I won't leave your side. We won't." Evelyn nodded to Sydney, who in turn nodded back as she followed. "I'll Link with you the whole time. If you need me, I'll be there."

"I... failed him..."

Sydney sighed as her otter began reflecting on the common focus. "Carbon... No. Volk did this for you, not--"

"I failed Johnny again, Eve... I couldn't save his son..."

Sydney stood still at those words, the reality setting in as she watched her husband cry into the distance. "Eve, take care of Carbon. I need time."

"To sulk? No. Come rest with us. You could use it after the lack of oxygen, anyway."

"No, not that." Cid looked back to Cathy as she cried beneath a pile of furs. "Our family needs me right now."

---

"<You bastard. Your mother's a rotten weed.>"

Entropy awoke to her father's words, confused why he would speak in his native tongue. "Dad? Is your veile acting up again?"

"<There she is. You can't hide that abomination from me.>" A complete stranger--and even more peculiar, a Yangurra--stepped into the bedroom with a scowl sagging over his face. "<I'm sure Lord Enthol will appreciate the death of such a monster.>"

"<Don't you dare! Leave Entropy out of this! She's just an innocent mother!>"

"<Oh, I see now.>" The newcomer brandished his plasma caster, pointed it to the other warm body sharing the bed, and in a searing mess ended Marshall's life. "<I have no mercy for the creature she carries. However... perhaps my master would prefer reaping the memory of you destroying it inside her. Then perhaps this animal shall live--without her unfortunate progeny.>"

Entropy trembled in absolute fear as she wiped blood and Marshall from her face. "<Y-You can't b-be serious...>"

"<Ah, you speak our tongue. That makes this easier.>" The assailant pressed his weapon against Entropy's swollen belly. "<This will happen, to my liking.>" he took a moment to throw the bedsheets to the side, rip free the girl's panties, and inspect her nethers with a grin. "<If there's not much mess after, I may even reward any good behavior. Now let Niishal here take responsibility for his child.>"

"<I can't-->"

"<No, you _ will _! Do it your way or I swear by Gaia her Path ends here, in far messier fashion than her bedfellow.>"

"<I... Great Spirits...>" Niishal took a moment to mumble through his severely limited options, barely making a whimper as he stepped forward. "<I haven't had need to build toxin reserves for years. Please, for her sake, let me do this safely for her. I can replenish my poisons at my ætir. Please.>"

"<I'll be watching you closely, traitor. Where is it? We need to carry it back anyway.>"

"<The next room. Come.>"

Entropy let the two leave the bedroom, but though her brain wanter her to run her body was petrified in fear. "No... No, I... I have to..." The demi-human slumped out of bed and crawled to the door, but after minutes of delay her actions amounted to naught. "The door... I need to reach... th-the door--"

"<You can't run, Terran. The area is under my men's control.>" The attacker kicked Entropy back, splaying her across the floor. "<Niishal, do it now or forsake her forever. No more delays.>"

"I... I'm sorry, Little Sprout."

Entropy submitted to her fate, going limp as her father knelt between her spread legs. "Do it. You don't have a choice. Just... Just do it."

"This won't be easy on you. Bear with the pain, my child." Nishal begrudgingly produced all three of his vines and pressed them all against his daughter's pussy. He started with one, but quickly inserted all three as far as they would sink so as not to torture his daughter. "Entropy..."

"Gah! D-Dad!"

"I know, Little Sprout. I know." The three tendrils bumped against the hybrid's swollen womb, enticing a yelp in pain. "I'm... so sorry..." The buds on the ends of the vines bloomed slightly, then three stingers shot forward and pierced into Entropy's deepest chamber. "Forgive me, baby girl."

Entropy would have screamed if there were any air still in her lungs. When the venom began to flow she choked instead. "N-N-No...!"

The intruder pressed his weapon into Entropy's face to make his next question absolutely clear. "<It's done then?>"

"<It's done. My only remaining child will soon end her Path.>" Niishal retracted his vines quickly yet gently, his last gift to his daughter being one of mild mercy. "<Let's go. I... I won't be so agreeable in a moment.>"

"<No. I didn't tell you to leave the child to death. I said to kill it.>" The assailant shot out a tendril of his own and stabbed a stinger right through Entropy's abdomen, administering his own certainly deadly venom. "<There.>"

"<No! What have you done!?>"

"<I knew you would leave a faint chance of hope. You've always been like that.>" The soldier pointed his weapon to Niishal's chest and nudged toward the door. "<Now she pays the price for your failure. Walk, prisoner.>"

"<After you poison my only family!? No! I will not--!>"

A bolt of plasma flew into Niishal's side, searing his flesh and leaving a bloody, charred smell in the room. "<The next one is in the head. Move.>"

As the two left the room, Entropy looked down at the wound in her belly and frantically clamped down upon it with her palms. "No... No! No!"

"<Load into the ship, prisoner.>" A hint of resistance sounded through the walls in the form of an impact against flesh. "<I told you to load inside!>"

"<And you told me I'd lose my head!>"

"<And grant you a merciful favor? Perhaps that might be best. We do have the ætir after all.>"

Entropy cried in silence as several weapons discharged in succession, followed by only silence. "D-Dad... No..."

«Yssyr... ma chuuda... nyamo chiini...»

"What!? Wh-Who!?"

«Ya... Yi... Yo...» A sound seemed to come out of nowhere, as if stuck in the hybrid's own head. «You... You are not... going to die here.»

"I... I don't..."

«Rest, Little Sprout. We will handle your injuries.» Entropy's heart practically exploded into flames at the speed it now beat. «Rest. The poison acts slower if you rest.»

"Can't... breathe..."

«We will help.» Out of nowhere Entropy's lungs opened up and her heart rate slowed. «Sleep. Sleep...»

---

"No!" Carbon shot forward, flying out of bed and into a lack of gravity. "Spirits... Eve? Eve!?"

"Carbon?" Evelyn groaned as she formed her body from her ring. "Sorry, I was a bit slower to wake. What's wrong?"

"I... I just had a horrible..." Carbon placed his paws over his muzzle as he held back tears. "I'd say it was a nightmare, but it was so real. It reminded me of those memories we used to share--"

"Oh no... You saw that too?" Evelyn suddenly gained a concerning expression as she grasped her husband's shoulders and stared into his eyes. "Did you just see your father? Did he--?"

"He... stabbed me... but that wasn't me?" Carbon began calming himself, but not without questioning everything about himself first. "No, I felt myself inside me. That was... mom?"

"Yes. That was our mother. I think our Link let you share my recalled memory." Eve let Carbon go to relax, but ended up staring into dead space as she was sucked into her own mind. "But... I... I can't explain it, but I think I felt myself... No..."

"Eve, don't leave me with questions, please. What is it?"

"I felt you, that's for sure. Then... I felt a part of you go away, and it scared me so very much." Eve shook at the thought, relying on her partner's comforting embrace to keep her from losing her grip on reality. "But then... I felt myself come out of nowhere. I felt myself... and something else. Some_one_ else."

"I... I think I felt that too." Carbon hugged his wife protectively as they floated into a wall. "What's our next move? What does it mean?"

"I don't know. I..." Eve went stiff at a sudden revelation. "I actually don't know. I can sense I have more memories related to this, but I can't remember them correctly. I need... something."

"We'll figure it out, Eve. We'll get this sorted."

Evelyn quirked her head as she considered her current company and the most recent memory. "I felt another veile. Maybe we need to find someone that has two as well?"

"Or two minds that basically think as one." Carbon shoved a surface with a vine and guided the pair to a wall console. "Phoebe and Themis might work since they share one veile between them."

"No, but I like that idea. This veile was a different entity, though... and when I think about it, I don't resemble my host at all like normal veilee do." Eve tapped the screen before Carbon could and Linked with the device, granting access to all systems in an instant. "Michelle and Mikhaila use two independent veilee almost interchangeably between them, and both don't resemble the girls at all either. We need to Link with them."

"'We'? You want to... share that with me again...?"

"I'm sorry, Carbon. That was an... unexpected and unfortunate memory. You and I didn't die though, and neither did your father or mother. It can't get any worse." A remote video connection opened and produced a blocky image of Ilaria's bedroom. "Damn, the connection is getting worse the closer we get to Xor. That explains why I can't find the girls either."

"We'll find them. Don't worry, Eve."

"One way or another I..." Eve trailed off as the image cleared up, revealing a certain cyborg otter trying her best to shove a tanuki through a mattress. "...Oh damn..."

"Hm?" Carbon took a look and snorted out a withheld chuckle. "Wow. Way to give it to your wife, Baby Lulu."

"Gods, I love you! Rhy, I-I'm--!" Ilaria crammed her hips between Rhyme's a few final times, their groins going flush on the last thrust as they apparently tied. After a moment for her orgasm to subside, her ears swiveled back to her console followed by her flushed, embarassed face. "Sh-Shit... Um... Rhy, hide. We--" The otter calmed noticeably as she picked up the console, which by the scale of the paw grabbing it must have been her watch. "Oh, fuck. Hey guys. I thought someone else had called."

Carbon grinned at the casual tone the conversation adopted. "Hey, Ari. Give our love to Rhyme."

"I just got done giving her something like four gallons of love. I think she'll need a rain check." The watch bumbled around for a pawful of seconds, settling on a selfie shot of the two lovers beneath a sheet. "Considering I had calls disabled, I assume this hack must be important? What can we do for you?"

"Actually... we need your girls, M and M. We can't find them or raise their own watches."

"Oh. Well I was hoping you needed help relaxing, considering we're all going to die in a few days."

Rhyme pulled the watch to frame her better. "And you're male now. We've been... wanting to experiment some, but her brother's too big."

"You want to get plugged from both ends? That... might be something we can arrange, if I can find Sydney anyway." Carbon smirked as the sheet slipped, giving a nice view of a breast. "As much as I'd prefer that topic, business comes first. Eve and I just went through a memory of ours and we need to know what comes next. The problem is that we think a unique kind of Link is necessary to unlock the next part."

"Hence the girls. They are ~pretty unique~, to say the least." Ari took back her watch and fumbled with a few holograms floating over the camera. "Yeah, I can't read anything on your unshielded ship. Maybe Rhyme can fix it, but... I think Yoyo was working on something like that with the girls. He might know more."

"Sounds good. Sorry for the intrusion, ladies." Carbon got a glimpse beneath the sheets as Ari pulled her watch onto her wrist, an image of her huge knot lodged in Rhy's cunt still stuck in his head. "You two just keep enjoying each other's company. We'll, uh... talk later."

"Gotcha. Later, Carbon."

"Bye, guys!"

"Well that was interesting." Carbon shut down the signal and dialed up Iolvin's room. "So you think this will work?"

"It better. We don't have any other leads." Eve stared into the dark of the room again as she thought about the memory. "Something about that other entity sharing that womb... It reminds me of myself, but my current self. It reminds me of my new body."

"Your body is an extra-superMassive singularity. That shit definitely wasn't happening inside our mom." Carbon checked the console and this time outright laughed as he found Adrian stark naked and straddling Iolvin, the smaller otter bouncing on cock like it was a sport. "Holy shit. What are the odds?"

"Carbon? Oh, hey bud." Yoyo touched his console and turned it to face the two better, not an ounce of shame burdening them. "You just here for a free show or you need a paw with something?"

"A bit of both now, I guess. You know your sister is doing the same thing right now, right?"

"Damn straight. She just busted another huge nut, didn't she? Took everything left in me to keep from cramming my knot in Adri here." Yoyo took the odd silence and questioning looks as a prompt. "We have a sort of... low-level Link between the three of us. We've gotten pretty good at keeping it active most of the time, too. Crazy nano-things, Ellie says."

"Nanomachines. I swear, if I have to explain it one more time to my ~stupid~ husband..." Adrian yipped as Iolvin thrust up into his ass. "Ah! It's a joke!"

"Well good to see you two are still very ~happily~ married." Carbon checked the personnel tracker again and still came up with unknowns for the girls. "Fun aside, could your direct me to Ari's little troublemakers? We need them for something important."

"The triplets? They're probably still lifting things with their minds and shit in the cargo hold."

"Every ounce of that sentence chills me to the bone, but no. I need the twins."

"Oh. Yeah, they just left a pawful of minutes ago for the Bridge. They're working on some project and needed to grab something." Yoyo pulled up a smaller slate and parsed through some apps, landing on a text messaging program. "You're on their ship? Let me hit them up so they can pull you over."

"Thanks, Yoyo. That helps a lot." Carbon checked around the otter's room as he typed, pointing out an omission. "Hey, Zoë isn't joining the fun?"

"Nah, she's... trying something with our boys and Rose. They wanted to try two girls at once, I think." Yoyo finished his little conversation and a portal opened up beside Evelyn. "There you go. They should--"

"Yeah, they almost ripped Eve in half with a portal."

Eve smiled and showed off her intact body. "They can't permanently hurt me even if they did. It's fine."

Yoyo gnawed on his lip and shook his head. "Well still, they need to pick walls and stuff. We've had close shaves too, so those things aren't friendly in the middle of rooms anymore."

"We'll file a formal complaint. Thanks, Yoyo."

"No prob, Carbon."

"Will you come through already?" To the group's surprise, Sydney reached through the portal to guide her mates to the far side. "They say it's harder to use these things out here."

"Oh, sorry." Carbon took Cid's paw and pulled himself and Eve through the portal... and onto their asses when they forgot about the sudden shift in gravity. "Really sorry. Ouch."

"You okay, Otter?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Tougher than we look and all." Carbon slowly stood and brushed off his tail, then stared face-first into the visage of Vasily on the mantle in the form of a digital picture framed in gold. "Shit. I almost forgot..."

"We're all reeling over it, Carbon." Sydney glided a paw over various trinkets and artifacts of Vasily's past battles deposited by fellow soldiers. "I've been making amends myself by adding to this, at least until we can find his remains. Volk deserves a proper burial."

"I'm not complaining there. We do have to nuke this black hole first though. He'd be most upset if... if his sacrifice was for naught." Carbon noticed the flask and pistol in the center of the mantle and moved to inspect them. "That's your dad's gun. And... I've seen this flask before."

"Both gifts to me." Cid pointed to each item in turn. "You know about my father's .357, and the flask was from my other father..."

"Vasily gave it to you. I see."

Evelyn hugged her husband from behind as they examined the item. "That flask used to be Vasily's, remember? A gift for joining the frontiersman battalion with you?"

A slight smile penetrated the hybrid's saddened mood. "Right. They laughed when I declined mine since I don't drink."

"And Volk gave it to me..." Sydney teared up a bit thinking back on that particular moment. "He said he'd stop drinking if I did too. He wanted me to get over my dad's death in a healthy way. He... I hear he fell back into the habit when I left to do my own thing, though."

"He died clean and sober, you know. The old dog gave up drinking entirely after he walked his daughter down the aisle."

"Good. I feel a little better that I might have contributed to that, even a little." Sydney took a step back and admired the richly adorned alter. "And that's why that's there now. I lost a lot of my life to my first father's death and the booze that followed. I won't make the same mistakes again the second time around."

"That's probably the best way to honor him, Sydney. He'd want his family safe and healthy. He'd... want someone to take up the mantle, so to speak." Carbon's eyes shot open as he remembered his original goal. "Mom... Hey, the girls are here? We need them for some of Eve's memories."

"Yeah, they're... They're wallowing in the navigation station. Be... gentle, Otter."

"Ah. We'll tread softly. Thanks, and... later, maybe we could--"

"Fuck like we're all going to die? Yes. Absolutely yes." Cid grazed the mantle one last time, took a deep breath, and headed off. "I'll go save our girls from the triplets down below. Meet me there and I'm sure we can find a nice spot. Maybe the gun range; I've always wanted to have sex bent over a .50 cal."

"Cid, never change." Carbon giggled and waved his wife goodbye, then slowly approached the navigation pit. He found the twins curled up helplessly around a small object, which in time revealed itself as their mother's urn. "Oh... Shit. We'll come back later, girls."

"The hell we will. Carbon, we have limited time to figure this out." Evelyn sat in the only remaining seat out of three and proposed her point. "Girls, we have a few memories we can't access, and we think you or your veilee might be able to help with that."

Mikhaila opted to sign the words the pair shared through a Link. <You have those too? Corrupted memories?>

"Wait," queried Carbon as he sat in Eve's seat, "you two have memories you can't experience? Do they have anything to do with your mother, maybe?"

The girls shook their heads. <No, they involve yours. Well, we think she's your mother at least. Do you know an 'Entropy'?>

"How... How do you even know that name? She used a fake name most of the time."

<We have hints her, but every time we try to dig deeper we can't actually relive her memories.>

"But how do you even--?"

Evelyn phased herself out from beneath Carbon and into a standing position. "The ætir. Entropy used the ætir after gaining genetic modifications from Niishal, right? What's to say something similar didn't happen when Ari was infected with fii? Maybe the memories in the ætir went with those fii too?"

"And her daughters grew up able to adapt to the new genetic code. That... explains the ousche part at least. They literally have Yangurraar genetics in them, including ones breeded into obscurity." Carbon pulled Eve into his lap, groaning as Eve got her payback by increasing her weight a tad. "Ugh... Ah, so if those genetics come from the ætir, they're our family's own. That also explains how they can use ætiir at all."

<That's our best guess as well. We gave up on the memories, but we've inherited a lot of knowledge as well so we focus on that mostly.> The two pulled each other closer with their former mother sandwiched between their breasts. <It also helps us stay away from memories of our mom, which we most certainly can relive.>

"That gets a little tricky then." Carbon leaned forward a bit to free his vines, then offered one to each of the twins. "I'm not going to force you guys, but we need to check out a few of those memories. From what we've seen already, they aren't pleasant."

Michelle spiraled a tendril around Carbon's without hesitation to form a Link. «We can handle it if it helps the cause. We all need to grow up someday.»

«Thank you, Chelle.» The others joined the Link promptly, with Evelyn voluntarily shouldering the bulk of the backlash that comes with such a large network of people. «You alright, dear? You feel stressed.»

«I can handle it. Let's just get this done quickly, please.»

«We won't push you too far for too long. Ready girls?»

The twins nodded to each other, then to Carbon. «For family? Always.»

---

"Where... Spirits, where is it!?" Entropy practically crawled through a medical drug cabinet, her injured belly forcing her to spill canisters and jars everywhere. "I know they have it here... Amyl nitrite!"

A hazy silhouette of a person stood over the girl, guiding her. «That substance should be a gas, Entropy. Find a mask as well.»

The lights flickered into action. "Hello?"

«Remain calm. Think of a solution to make him lose interest.»

"Shit." Entropy groaned as she covered her wound with a lab coat, then played out her calmest nurse impression as she cleaned up her mess. "J-Just a spill. I'll clean it up in--"

"You aren't Joan." A rather old man in a similar white coat walked over and helped with the cleanup. "Just who are you, and how did you get into this facility? This isn't part of the hospital."

«You have a job changing bedding. Perhaps he won't know the difference between staff roles?»

"I... I work in the refugee hospital. My name is, uh..."

«Your card says 'Claire'.»

"...Claire."

The doctor stopped with his assistance and examined Entropy closer. "Sure. My name is Santa." The odd man stood and held his forehead, unsure how to proceed. "First they want to force my retirement and now I've got druggies sneaking into my lab. Okay, show me your ID, 'Claire'."

«This may get tricky. Give him what he wants, then continue as he checks it. I can't spare much more energy keeping you in stasis.»

"I don't... Shit, I don't have time." Entropy pulled out a badge and practically threw it at the doctor, resuming her search as he didn't seem to pose a physical threat at his age. "Here. Now where the fuck...? Ah, sodium thiosulfate... and sodium nitrite. Almost there."

"I've seen some fake IDs in my time, but this one might take the cake. This was printed in a real--" The doctor stopped checking the badge once those chemical compounds processed through his brain. "Those aren't recreational. You really are a nurse, fake ID or not."

«Agree and continue. Path of least resistance, please. This chemical reaction will kill us in minutes once I lose control.»

"I told you already--I work over at the hospital." Entropy looked to the corner of the room and spoke to her incorporeal partner. "What's left? I already know you're holding back the reaction. How do I stop it?"

"Who...?" The doctor checked the empty corner and then crouched next to Entropy. "Is something wrong? Let's... start with names. I'm Doctor Moore. William Moore."

«Path of--»

"Oka--! Uh, okay. I'm Entropy. Now if--Oh! pyridostigmine and atropine should work! How stupid of us!" Entropy found the former substance, but winced as the poison started taking effect her left arm. "Damnit! Keep me going longer, idiot! We're so close!"

"Those are anti-toxins... So that's the reason you're here. The hospital only keeps a light supply. What kind of patient needs--?" William finally spotted blood at the same moment he noticed Entropy was pregnant. He also noticed her fur beneath the cover of her coat. "It's you? What happened? Why are you fuzzy?"

«Better to keep our assailants' identities secret, Entropy.»

"Poison. My... uh... boyfriend..." The girl found the last of the medications, but her body was already too numb to move. Over a few seconds she lost the ability to hold herself up and even to breathe. "Anti... do... d-dote..."

"Of course! Stay with me, miss!" The doctor examined the exact medications and used his decades of expertise to surmise a prognosis and treatment. "Cyanide poisoning... and neuromuscular inhibitors as well? Right. You can't breathe, so... atropine first. Hold still." William took a syringe and administered a dose, then moved on to the pyridostigmine. "Okay, so you don't have any choice but to hold still. Don't worry. I'll keep you breathing."

«Much better.»

Entropy slowly regained control over her lungs, gasping for fresh air the moment she could. "Th... Thank... you..."

Doctor Moore reached for an air pump, but stopped when his new subject started managing on her own. "That was far too quick. Did you already administer something? I don't want to overdose you, miss."

"Person... helping... inside me." Entropy curled up into a ball once her muscles regained their responsiveness. "He's not... strong enough alone. Thank you... for the help, doctor."

"Rest. We aren't done, not by a long shot. Lucky you, your search for medicine took you to the experimental treatments lab." William helped his new patient onto a metal examination table for lack of a bed. "When we're done saving you, I have a proposal."

«Capture is not a survivable option.»

"Don't turn me in... to the military..."

"I won't, so long as you let me see what makes you tick. The whole raccoon thing going on here aside, it's obvious you've got great healing ability." The doc prepared a mask for an amyl nitrite gas dose. "In exchange for secrecy and potentially helping with your child, how about I have you moved here? We can even get you a real ID if you're not already a citizen."

«Creating records that can be searched--»

"No. They would lock me up, and then the guys that killed my da--boyfriend would come for me again." The girl donned the mask and took five solid breaths, calming her racing heart in the process. "It's better like this. I no longer have a home here anyway, so... I was never here. Enjoy your retirement, doc."

"And I'm telling you 'No', young lady. Stay in my lab if you have nowhere else. You're too important to humankind." William took off the mask and started a preparation of the next medication. "I see a solution to this bleak, blighted world between the two of us. If we both retire now, we retire the whole of civilization in turn."

«This one is smart enough to see the larger picture. He may prove... quite the useful ally by the odds.»

"Strong words, old man." Entropy winced as another needle punctured her hide. "But why? You could just give up and enjoy your life."

"Because I see a younger form of myself in you. You're so young and yet you know more of specialty medicine like toxicology than most trained physicians. You're a prodigy, and I cannot retire until you realize your own potential." The doc smiled as he removed the syringe. "And if we're lucky, we'll free humanity from its radioactive prison along the way."

"We... Um..."

"'We'? You really do have a figment in that noggin of yours, don't you?"

«He catches on quickly. An open-minded friend would be a boon.»

"Yes. And we will help where we can. Consider it thanks on behalf of... my late father, bless his Path." Entropy groaned as she held a paw over the puncture wound in her abdomen. "But if you want my personal thanks... Are you any good with a suture kit?"

"Haven't touched one in decades." William took the last remaining medication in a syringe and grinned. "Consider this a two-way learning experience, Entropy."

«That name--»

"'Claire', please. I really can't risk being found." The hybrid stared into the doctor's eyes long enough to determine there was a newfound layer of trust present, then offered her wrist for the injection. "But if we're making a fake identity anyway, you can call me Doctor Claire Optik."

---

Ilaria sighed and placed paws on her daughters' shoulders. "Girls..."

The whole group awoke at the same moment, shuddering as their Link was abruptly severed. Evelyn recovered her bearings first and stood tall. "Woah! That was... vivid."

"And painful. I swore I was dying there for a moment." Carbon removed his face mask briefly to rub between his eyes. "So there definitely was another being in there with us. Maybe--"

"Girls, you need to put your mother's remains back where they belong. Gods help us if something happened and her urn spilled." Ari gave the twins a stern look when they didn't budge, then an angry one when they hugged their late mother even tighter. "Mikhaila. Michelle. _Put her back, now _!"

The girls looked to their new group, then took deep breaths. <No. We... We need this right now.> The twins suddenly opened a set of portals and all but their mother fell through to Cargo Bay C on their barge. <We didn't want to do that.>

"It's alright, girls. I assume you have your own personal reasons." Eve recovered from the porting easiest, having floated through it rather than somersault over grated flooring. "Is she alright? Her... ashes, I mean."

<We don't really-->

Chelle stopped her sister and changed topics. <We're working on a tribute of sorts, and we want mom here for inspiration. We swear we're just trying to make our other mom feel better.>

Carbon regained his footing and found some pipes to suspend beneath using his vines. "Ari's been taking it badly these last few days, I take it?"

<Oh, right. You were sleeping until today, weren't you?> Mik took a moment to Link with her sister again so they could think as one. <Ever since Grandpa died... she's been thinking far too much about her other losses. That's been driving Sydney crazy too, so you know.>

"In that case, I'm fine with anything that makes Ari feel better. We'll get out your fur once we figure out this memory crap."

Eve picked up on the twins' quickening breaths and decided to sit next to the girls. "Don't forget about yourselves, pups. None of this helps if you worry your moms more than soothe them."

Chelle nodded and produced their shared inhaler, letting her sister take a puff first. <We're trying our best. This is just... really important to us. We remember her so much that...>

<We felt everything. We know how much our moms loved each other.> Mik passed the inhaler back and her sister took a turn. <That's why we're helping you. We know how much of a burden a parent's memories can be. So, shall we discuss that... odd memory of yours?>

"Yeah. Thanks, girls." Carbon got the hint that they might need to Link again and unlatched his vines, now favoring a cross-legged seat on the floor. "I could feel myself and Eve, but that third presence... Whatever that was, it was sentient like Eve. It also didn't have a form from what I recall."

Eve scooted over to lean against her husband. "I thought it was just a foggy detail of the memory, but that's how Entropy actually saw him. He was acting like an obscure memory to her in real time."

"It was a guy? I couldn't tell."

"Yeah? Male vocal impression, male signature..." Eve quirked her head in response to similar quirks directed toward her. "No? You guys didn't pick up on that?"

<We experienced a series of mental ideas and rough imagery, but we never heard a mental voice.> A nod from Carbon confirmed the same for him, yet simultaneously confused the twins. <Wait, you were both present in that scene. Why did only Eve notice?>

"Good point. I should have known those details as well." Carbon rested his head on Eve's shoulder. "She's had all these memories of my father so far and I don't recall any of those either. It's ponderous, that's for sure."

"No... No, it isn't." Eve stiffened as the realization flooded her thoughts. "He was part of me, not you or your mom. I think... No, it felt like when she was poisoned. I was someone else, just a part of you. Then I came alive; I became independent."

<You think this being was independent as well? Or do you think he was bound to you, like a veile for a veile?>

"Neither." Eve held up her hand, then let the color shift back to its natural, absolute black. "I said he felt like I do now, like a singularity? What if... What if we both are? What if we started out sentient that way, but the half that made up me grafted onto you?"

"Veilee are symbiotes, right? And Yangurraa can't live without one? That means either you..." Carbon shuddered as a chill slithered down his spine. "Either you killed my natural veile outright and replaced it or you absorbed her like a parasite. That means maybe this other guy had to choose our mom instead?"

"I don't agree with either of those cases. The strange thing is... Now that I've felt him, I can't stop feeling a hole that he used to occupy in me. We were... sort of like the girls, here. I think we were like twins."

<Veilee look like their hosts. If you don't, your image had to come from somewhere.>

"Niishal." Carbon's eyes rolled back for a moment as he briefly recalled the previous memory. "Dad did something to mom instead of poison her. If you can remember more, can you recall what he did?"

"The first sting... Right..." Eve closed her eyes and concentrated on that specific moment while it was still fresh. "The pain masked it, but... he deposited genetic material? No, not just that. He used raw æti and fii from his ætir. He... He changed you, Carbon. He used us to change you. In fact... you were conceived as a female, but I never actually made you... male when..."

"Eve?"

"You were born a male, even though you were female in the womb. I could always change your sex afterward and very naturally, but I never had to touch your genes." Evelyn stared into the corner of the warehouse as that realization hit her hard. "The part of you I always tapped into for those changes... feels just like him."

<Then he didn't leech off Entropy after all. He-->

"He was always with us instead." Carbon offered a paw, the queii lining his paw pads wiggling for a Link. "Eve... can you feel him in me still?"

The enigma took that paw readily and dug deeply into her former host's genes. "No. Damn, he's not--"

"Eve?"

"He's not in you, but I can..." Eve offered a paw to the twins now, a fierce expression demanding another group Link. "That hole in me? It's filled when I Link with you. That's the key. We need the girls to see your mother's memories, but we need you to see him."

The girls took another set of puffs on their inhalers just in case the request took a while, then cross-connected their Link through Eve. <You know what you're looking for now?>

"I believe so. Sorry we can't rest, but I might forget this feeling again..."

"Eve, you're what's important right now." Carbon leaned closer and gave his wife a hug. "I trust you. I love you."

"And I love you. Now, let's bring that guy out of hiding."

---

"Miss cat lady?" A little boy rocked in his seat as his parents hovered over him. "Do I get to be like you? I've always wanted a kitty cat, so if I get to be one..."

«Were you this impatient as a child?»

"No... Uh, I'm not sure, Bobby. I'm checking right now." Entropy tended a gas-chromatography / mass-spectrometry machine as it finished analyzing a sample. "Mister and Misses Jonas, if the results do come back favorably we should have you checked as well."

"We can't... afford the treatments." Misses Jonas rubbed her son's back, soothing and calming the child. "We'd happily make sacrifices for our Bobby's future though. We're fine with that."

"Misses Jonas... Carrie... I don't know where those rumors came from, but I'm doing this for free. My father would have done the same if he were still alive, and Doctor Moore would be helping if he wasn't limited to his bed." The GC-MS unit beeped with an initial result, drawing Entropy's attention. "People are scared of me, and doubly so of becoming like me. Don't let the negative people in your life scare you as well with rumors and lies. Get treated before you get cancer, please. Your son deserves his family just as much as they deserve him."

"You... You're a perfect example of what this world needs, Doctor Optik."

«She's right. You could have guaranteed a profitable living with this. Your generosity is commendable.»

"Why, thank you. I... don't hear nice things much these days. So, should we go over the results?" Entropy waited for a confirmation from both parents, then walked over with the printout from the various tests she'd run. "The tracer I placed in Bobby's blood looks like it stayed intact after adding the binder. It looks like he can indeed undergo the treatment, which bodes well for at least one of you too."

Mister Jonas took the pages of results to peruse for himself as Entropy finished with each. "So... My son will be alright?"

«I'll check this against the registry.»

"We don't know yet. The question now is whether we can find a matching genome to splice. Without one this is all moot." The hybrid picked up another set of results generated from earlier, then flipped open a pawmade reference journal and scanned through it. "Now on that front, I think I already see a match. From what I know, Bobby has a pretty common protein hierarchy that's compatible with lagomorphs."

«Ah, keen eye. That helps.»

Bobby was outright confused with the science involved, but no less enthusiastic. "Laggy... moths?"

"That's super science speak for bunnies. You like bunnies, Bobby?"

"I don't know what that is. But... I don't get to be a kitty cat?"

Entropy's personal research ghost finally parsed an answer. «A mix of the North American pika and the mountain hare would fit his profile perfectly.»

"They're like kitties but with long ears and small, poofy tails. Here, let me show you." Entropy flipped through another journal and landed on a personal sketch of a mountain hare. "See? Do you think you'd like that? You'd actually be like this one since he's a male like you."

"Awesome!"

«Imagine when Fibre comes along. You'll make a great mother.»

Entropy shared the child's smile, bringing her to her favorite part of her job. "I'm glad you approve, Bobby. Mister Jonas, do I have your blessing to start treatments? It will take a few injections several months apart."

"You certainly do, doctor." The father placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "Bobby, let's keep you safe. Oh, but... Carrie, you had a... concern."

"Please, ask. I'd rather avoid confusion."

Carrie gave Entropy's body a thorough inspection, even though the opposite was actually her intent. "How much will the... the wild animal affect him. I mean... are there instincts, or will he have to change diets...?"

«Every single time. I thought we might actually break the streak with these folks.»

"For all intents and purposes Bobby will still be himself. There definitely are... urges... but thankfully the male ones are more or less the same as in pure humans. You just can't fight the male urge to breed." Entropy dropped to a knee for Bobby after finding a sketch of her former pet, Mister Fuzzies. "See, I've got a lot of this in me. I'm part ferret, weasel, otter... but I'm still me. Well, except now I'm cute and fluffy, right Bobby?"

«Yep, best mom.»

Carrie smiled, the care her son received cementing her analysis of normalcy. "If that's the case, you have my blessing as well. We can get used to fur if it means Bobby can walk outside again without wearing a gas mask."

"Good choice, Carrie. Now that it's settled, give me... uh..." Entropy hunched forward as a pang of pain ran through her stomach. "Um, give me a moment... to synthesize the first... injection..."

«Entropy, your hormone levels have shifted. I shouldn't have gotten so distracted... These results are unexpected. I'm--»

"Doctor? Are you feeling alright?"

«I... Our Link is failing. I can't--»

"Hey...? Hey!?"

«--eed to leave yo--»

"Doctor?"

Entropy waited for the voice in her head to return but it never did. Instead the pain in her abdomen heightened. "B-Biology... Remember how this works..." The original hybrid's legs collapsed as her water broke. "I... I need help..."

Mister Jonas dropped to a knee to help Entropy onto her hindpaws. "We've been through this. We'll guide you."

"No, I went through this; you just watched." Carrie checked the other rooms and found one with a bed that happened to be Entropy's bedroom. "Here. Donald, carry her to this bed."

"Yes, honey."

"Good. Doctor, are you still with us?"

"Y-Yeah." Entropy regained her control over her legs and walked to her bed with Donald's assistance. "Thank y-you. I'm--" A larger pang of pain ripped through the woman's body, drawing out a long squeak. "I... I don't know what..."

"The pain is normal, honey. Bear with it and don't fight it." Carrie shot her husband a glaring stare. "Go get help. And get Bobby out of here, too."

"But I wanna wat--"

"No, Bobby. This is--"

Entropy choked on her pain in order to clear the air. "Let him watch. He might need to know h-how this works one d-day."

"Oh... Okay, doctor. Bobby, you can... You can watch, but stay out of the way. And no touching!"

"He can... if he wants..." Entropy quickly found herself overwhelmed by the pain of her child literally getting pushy for her birthday. "Arh! Spirits!"

"I can agree to that." Donald pulled out a flask, took a swig, then left it behind as he went for help. "All yours. I'll be back soon."

Carrie took a swig herself, then helped Entropy out of her skirt and leggings. "Your kid isn't going to wait for help. We need to get your husband before it's too late."

"I don't..." Entropy cringed as the baby started moving just the slightest before stopping. "Ah... her father is... is dead."

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry." The baby made herself known again, making a mad dash for fresh air. "Lord guide us... Okay doctor, you need to push. Push."

"I don't want to fucking push!" Entropy stared past her swollen belly, focusing on the entranced little boy ahead of her for lack of better targets for her eyes. "Agh! Damnit! It's hurting more!"

"The baby is moving! It's alright! Push!" Carrie reached between Entropy's legs, just in time to rub the crowning head of the child. "That's it! You're doing great! Push!"

" I'll fucking kill you if you fucking say that again!"

"Almost there!" Carrie smiled as the child's head fell into her hands, followed quickly by the relatively thinner remainder. "You did it! Your baby is... so soft. Wow."

Entropy went completely limp, her only actions revolving around keeping herself awake and searching for her child. "She's so... beautiful. She's more like an... an animal, too... and..."

"Girl? I think you were mistaken, doctor. You've got a baby boy." Claire inspected the child, soon finding the dark fur and thick tail adorned with various glowing bits--most noticeably a trio of tendrils protruding from his back. "Doctor, your son is definitely... unique. Cute, but unique."

"Mommy, why isn't he breathing?"

"What, Bobby?" Claire checked the quiet child, finding that his chest was indeed moving but he appeared to be choking. "Doctor! He isn't breathing!"

"What!?" Entropy shot upright, pain and exhaustion be damned, to inspect her ailing child. "He's trying to breathe, but something's wrong. Wait, are these...?" The new mother touched her paw to her son's vines and formed a very basic Link. "Great Spirits, he's like his father. That means... he needs different air than us."

"Different air? What does that mean?"

"It means he's suffocating. The... The umbilical is helping, but he needs more. Help me move." Entropy held her whelp close as she stumbled to her hindpaws. "There's a clean air chamber over here. I can make him a proper breathing environment."

Carrie helped steady the hybrid as she hurried along, though she had concerns about the mess they left in their wake. "Doctor, you're..."

"Not important! Please, grab that canister by the wall!" Entropy placed her child in the enclosure she normally reserved for testing samples, throwing the ruined petri dishes to the side. "We'll get you fixed up... son. A son..."

Carrie slid a gas bomb full of methane up to the edge of the table. "Where should I put it?"

"Take this clamp and connect it to the top. It only fits one way." Entropy cleaned her son's face, making sure he didn't have anything near his muzzle to prevent his further choking. In doing so, she got lost stroking her poor child's fur while tears welled in her eyes. "You need a new name. Fibre doesn't fit you now."

"Got it!"

"Carbon. You've got this rich, dark fur--"

"Doctor? I said it's connected."

"Oh, right." The false doctor lowered the hood of the chamber, hitting a kink when she pinched the shared umbilical cord. "Right. You aren't quite born yet."

Carrie found a set of clamps while Entropy grabbed a scalpel. "Wait. You need to pinch both ends so you don't bleed."

"Oh, good point." Entropy did just that, and in doing so the memory became fuzzy and bland. "I love you so much, Carbon."

The cord was cut, abruptly severing the memory in the same motion.

---

"Woah..." Carbon tensed as he was forced back to the real world. "That was... an experience."

Mikhaila took over signing duty again, leaving her sister to spell out words in hard light text. <What the hell did we just witness?>

"I'm pretty sure that was Carbon being born. Well, I'm certain actually..." Evelyn collapsed into her husband's lap to think. "That's the end of the line. Everything after that is stuff we already remember."

"That can't be all there is. I thought there was some secret message hidden in all this. Instead I get to see myself slide out a dark tunnel."

"That's not what I saw. I was in your mom's perspective most of the memory."

<We saw Entropy's view as well, up until she cut the cord.>

"In... Interesting." Eve rubbed her temples as she made sense of the disjointed memory. "I was in Entropy's head, but when the birthing started I was... everywhere. It's like I was viewing from multiple angles at once."

"Wait... Exactly when did this happen?"

Eve took a moment to reflect on the experience. "That strange male was talking, then he had some trouble... and I started feeling like a third party to the scene."

"I thought so. I didn't feel you until then as well, not all of you." Carbon sat in silence for a moment as he thought out the possibilities. "You were present, but it didn't feel like the complete version of you I grew up with. Then when the male went away, you... felt whole again, like you've been saying."

The twins gave up on deciphering the memory itself, instead ingesting the facts purely at a scientific level. <All possibilities being equal, the simplest answer here is not that there were two veilee fighting for a single spot. Nor does the radical idea that a veile could transfer from mother to child make sense. Rather... we think the simplest solution is that it was Eve the whole time, talking through the umbilical Link.>

"Me? But I'm female." Eve kept the memory in mind, but chose to dig deeper into the odd hole she was feeling versus now. "The male's disappearance... feels like that part of me that... the part that can make you male, Carbon. I don't..."

"That's it. That's what you were meant to feel." Carbon embraced his wife from behind, squeezing her securely close. "I don't know what it means yet, but... I think dad gave you that extra bit. Hell, he might have even given me the person I'm happy to call my wife. I mean... I may have lost my veile at the same time... but..."

"No, I'm certain of that much now. Carbon, I understand why you don't hold these same memories. We're only as similar as..." Eve groaned as she tried to find the best way to express this news. "Your veile is the framework that became me. She didn't die. She transmogrified into me. But what makes me different... is also what holds that other male, and those memories."

"You're partly me, but you're partly your own self. I get that. I still have to wonder how it could have been though."

<But why modify your veile in the first place? To keep that poison from killing you?>

"Maybe in part, but the changes needed for that were far less complex. Besides... Entropy still succumbed to the poison years later." Eve flipped around and straddled her husband to stare in his eyes. "I think our dad upgraded me for a purpose. In fact, I think he wanted us to survive."

<That's what we said. He wanted you to survive the poison.>

"No, more than that." Eve looked past her mate and peered through the metal walls toward an ominous singularity that drew ever closer. "I think he wanted us to survive Xor. Something he added to me is supposed to... to neutralize the black hole."

"You're sure of that? You realize that means we'd have to go on this trek and right into the path of danger anyway, which is far from playing it safe." Carbon pulled Eve closer and kissed her forehead. "And then you'd likely have to sacrifice yourself on my behalf to deliver the payload, right? So I'd die because of upkeep without a veile. I'm not sure that's his plan."

<But there is an extra veile attached to Eve. Your father installed a backup, if you will.>

"That's... a good point. So the male veile is maybe the payload, and Eve is the backup to take care of me afterward?"

"Or the other way around." Eve kissed her mate, then reformed her body so her faux clothing disappeared. "In any case, I love you and I'll do anything to see you live through this."

"No. I'm not losing you. I'm not... losing another soul mate."

"And you're not getting yourself killed trying to save me. Think about Sydney. Think about our girls." Eve split open Carbon's bodysuit and ground her petals against her mate's enlarging cock. "Or better yet, don't think. Just... let me spend what might be the last days of my life being happy with you."

<We will... Well, our project is in this container. We'll leave you two the room.> The twins opened a portal in the floor and hopped through it, landing inside a sealed cargo container. <Knock if you need us again. And... maybe consider helping our needs too?>

"If I'm not drained after I'm done with Eve, maybe we can talk." Now solid as stone, Carbon guided his cock deep into his wife's pussy. "But if we're talking end-ofTheWorld sex, it might take a few days."

"Carbon, shush..." Evelyn took control of the situation by way of pulling her husband's muzzle up to hers. "Mn... Show me how much you love me."